Any team in history you'd bet against the 2017 Warriors in a 7-game series?

[MavsDirk41]

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=WeGotGame

Bulls vs. Sonics game 1 of the finals if anyone is bored.

Bulls open the 2nd quarter with Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, kerr and Randy Brown.

Also started watching a bit of the 2017 finals, forgetting David West was on that team. Would love to see Rodman try some cheap **** on him.

David West?? Lol Rodman has defended Jordan, Shaq, Duncan, Bird, and Karl Malone just to name a few. I dont think Rodman would be too concerned over defending David West.

[ShootersShoot]

this team was getting smoked on their home court in game 1 of the western conference finals.

then they send in Zaza to purposely injury kawhi. so I would say the a healthy 2017 spurs

the 2019 Raptors are low key just a better version of that 2017 Spurs team.

This sounds like an interesting premise,let's expand

PG-Parker/Mills/DJ Murray
SG-Danny Green/Ginobili/Forbes
SF-Leonard/Kyle Anderson/J Simmons
PF-Aldridge/David Lee/Davis Bertans
C-Pau Gasol/Dwayne Dedmon

vs

PG-Lowry/Vanvleet/Lyn
SG-Danny Green/Norman Powell
SF-Leonard/OG Anunoby
PF-Siakam/Ibaka
C-Marc Gasol/Boucher

So,imho Leonard and Green are the pretty much the same players,but they were both defending better in San Antonio (Green was also shooting better).
I obviously take 2017 Lowry over 2017 Tony.

Marc and Pau were pretty much the same player offensively,Mark was miles better defensively.

Aldridge and Siakam are completely different PFs.
I can't really compare them,Siakam was extremely better/versatile in defense and Aldridge was an unstoppable midrange offensive force.

I'll still pick the Spurs cause of Manu and Pop.
Oh,and cause i'm a Spurs fan....

The raps point guard rotation looks to be much stronger. Lowry/FVV beats 34 year old parker/patty mills
Parker had declined considerably at that point. 10ppg on 51% TS and playing only about 25mpg. manu was a non factor at 39 years old. The rest of the rosters were similar in quality imo but the Raps having Ibaka off the bench probably tips it slightly in their favor for the frontcourt.

[ReddoverKobe]

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=WeGotGame

Bulls vs. Sonics game 1 of the finals if anyone is bored.

Bulls open the 2nd quarter with Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, kerr and Randy Brown.

Also started watching a bit of the 2017 finals, forgetting David West was on that team. Would love to see Rodman try some cheap **** on him.

David West?? Lol Rodman has defended Jordan, Shaq, Duncan, Bird, and Karl Malone just to name a few. I dont think Rodman would be too concerned over defending David West.

I'm not talking about defending. Rodman loved to try and bully people, it would be funny to see him try that on west

[Me Like Lakers]

A lot of teams could, but I wouldn't bet money in any of them

[Invictus88]

Go to youtube and look for some late 90's game. It might shock you and not in a good way

I was simply asking the OP what era he wanted this fantasy series to take place in; because the officiating and play style are completely different with whatever one you choose.

e.g. if you took the Golden State Warriors and threw them in a game in the 90s or 2000s they'd have to deal with WAY more physicality then they do now. The game was officiated completely different.

e.g. if you took a team like the 2004 Detroit Pistons and put them in today's game they would have to change their approach in a different manner. Their bread and butter was suffocating defense and slowing down pace; neither of which are very viable with today's officiating.

It doesn't make any team necessarily superior to the other. It just points out that context matters; thus my question.

Instead you give me some lazy answer about youtube; assuming that I wasn't alive and watching basketball in the 90s. Try again.

Not to butt in, but when was the last time you watched a game from a previous era? I only ask because memories are notoriously unreliable— I make it a point to watch classic games with a fair amount of regularity…

…and the difference in physicality between today and past eras is massively overstated, in my opinion. The most striking differences: the lack of team shooting, and team defenses essentially ignoring the 3pt line.

NFL football, in comparison, is WAY different today relative to previous eras.

Even though you watched the ‘90’s live, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts after rewatching one/some of those games now (of course, I’m assuming you haven’t, which very well might not be the case).

I have; although I really didn't need to to address this.

1. Hand-checking was allowed back then; making perimeter shooting and maneuvering much more difficult than it is now.
2. There's a level of contact that a defender was allowed to have back then on a player driving towards the basket that is simply not a thing anymore. Back then you could rub your body against them; steer them away from driving lanes; even get away with light hacking of arms etc. The phrase "hand is part of the ball" came from back then. None of that is allowed nowadays. You body up on a guy driving the lane and the ref is going to call it.

Both of the points above are obvious and are a stark contrast between how the game used to be called and how it's called today.

[Invictus88]

Go to youtube and look for some late 90's game. It might shock you and not in a good way

I was simply asking the OP what era he wanted this fantasy series to take place in; because the officiating and play style are completely different with whatever one you choose.

e.g. if you took the Golden State Warriors and threw them in a game in the 90s or 2000s they'd have to deal with WAY more physicality then they do now. The game was officiated completely different.

e.g. if you took a team like the 2004 Detroit Pistons and put them in today's game they would have to change their approach in a different manner. Their bread and butter was suffocating defense and slowing down pace; neither of which are very viable with today's officiating.

It doesn't make any team necessarily superior to the other. It just points out that context matters; thus my question.

Instead you give me some lazy answer about youtube; assuming that I wasn't alive and watching basketball in the 90s. Try again.

ah, the Jordan cult is melting down, nothing to see here. It's always funny the same people who claim to have watched games in the 90's pretend that it was "way more physical".

If the game actually WAS more physical in the 90s.. and you watched games back then because you grew up / were old enough to see the games... then yes.. the SAME people who claim to have watched the games would make that statement.

Please continue to spout forth utter nonsense in your posts.

[cupcakesnake]

Oops. You know what we meant though

Yep the 2018 Rockets were beast.

I am often confused on what to call a team based on 20xx-20yy season. Do we call them 20xx because the season starts in xx? or 20yy because they makes their memorable playoff run/finals in yy? I often go with yy not only because of the post season, but also all the MVP/all nba/etc awards are handed out in yy, so yy is more representative. Of course you can be more diligent and type the "xx-yy some team".

Well we've gone over the Scott Foster issue like thousands of times. I just wanted to say that, despite the obviously rigged games, the 18 Rockets had plenty of things to blame on themselves, and yes, you are responsible for your own shatty luck so I'd blame myself for bad luck as well (because you can't blame that on anyone else right). That said, it shows how underrated this 18 Rockets team is. On paper they are nowhere near looking like an all-time team talent wise - 6 man deep followed by Gerald freaking Green, but they are explicitly built and trained to play against the KD warriors.

I think I only blame you. Your confusion over xx and yy butterfly affected the Rockets into missing 27 consecutive 3-pointers.

There's no question the Rockets got absolutely rocked and rattled by the legendary 3rd-quarter Warrior blitz. But the 1 in 72,000 (math by FiveThirtyEight) chance of missing that many 3s in a row is just...a statistically anomaly we'll never be able to rap our heads around. Add the bad luck with Chris Paul's injury and it really feels like an act of God (or at least the Based God, L'il B). Most of those 3s were by Harden and Eric Gordon... historically elite shooters. It's just not something we'll ever be able to reckon with.

I liked their depth better when Mbah A Moute was healthy. It was cool when they had this healthy stable of defensive wings to toss around their offensive guards. At that point in his career Luc could at least kind of hit wide open 3s. There is such a huge difference between a 6-man rotation and a 7-man one. 6-man rotation I think you're always doomed to run out of gas if your team makes it to the Conference Finals. Basically always happens with D'Antoni teams for some reason. Doesn't matter whether it's Phoenix or Houston, if D'Antoni gets to the WCF he's only going to have a 6-man rotation by the time he gets there.

[ReddoverKobe]

I was simply asking the OP what era he wanted this fantasy series to take place in; because the officiating and play style are completely different with whatever one you choose.

e.g. if you took the Golden State Warriors and threw them in a game in the 90s or 2000s they'd have to deal with WAY more physicality then they do now. The game was officiated completely different.

e.g. if you took a team like the 2004 Detroit Pistons and put them in today's game they would have to change their approach in a different manner. Their bread and butter was suffocating defense and slowing down pace; neither of which are very viable with today's officiating.

It doesn't make any team necessarily superior to the other. It just points out that context matters; thus my question.

Instead you give me some lazy answer about youtube; assuming that I wasn't alive and watching basketball in the 90s. Try again.

ah, the Jordan cult is melting down, nothing to see here. It's always funny the same people who claim to have watched games in the 90's pretend that it was "way more physical".

If the game actually WAS more physical in the 90s.. and you watched games back then because you grew up / were old enough to see the games... then yes.. the SAME people who claim to have watched the games would make that statement.

Please continue to spout forth utter nonsense in your posts.

I just watched a game on youtube, about how I remembered it. For some reason though a lot of people like to lie about it, thankfully its on youtube for everyone to see. But Im sure because Bill laimbeer punched someone in 91it made 96 way more physical lol

[rtiff68]

I was simply asking the OP what era he wanted this fantasy series to take place in; because the officiating and play style are completely different with whatever one you choose.

e.g. if you took the Golden State Warriors and threw them in a game in the 90s or 2000s they'd have to deal with WAY more physicality then they do now. The game was officiated completely different.

e.g. if you took a team like the 2004 Detroit Pistons and put them in today's game they would have to change their approach in a different manner. Their bread and butter was suffocating defense and slowing down pace; neither of which are very viable with today's officiating.

It doesn't make any team necessarily superior to the other. It just points out that context matters; thus my question.

Instead you give me some lazy answer about youtube; assuming that I wasn't alive and watching basketball in the 90s. Try again.

Not to butt in, but when was the last time you watched a game from a previous era? I only ask because memories are notoriously unreliable— I make it a point to watch classic games with a fair amount of regularity…

…and the difference in physicality between today and past eras is massively overstated, in my opinion. The most striking differences: the lack of team shooting, and team defenses essentially ignoring the 3pt line.

NFL football, in comparison, is WAY different today relative to previous eras.

Even though you watched the ‘90’s live, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts after rewatching one/some of those games now (of course, I’m assuming you haven’t, which very well might not be the case).

I have; although I really didn't need to to address this.

1. Hand-checking was allowed back then; making perimeter shooting and maneuvering much more difficult than it is now.
2. There's a level of contact that a defender was allowed to have back then on a player driving towards the basket that is simply not a thing anymore. Back then you could rub your body against them; steer them away from driving lanes; even get away with light hacking of arms etc. The phrase "hand is part of the ball" came from back then. None of that is allowed nowadays. You body up on a guy driving the lane and the ref is going to call it.

Both of the points above are obvious and are a stark contrast between how the game used to be called and how it's called today.

The manner in which you are talking about the impact of hand checking makes me think that you haven’t watched one of those games recently. You’re the only one that know the truth, but immediately going to the (way exaggerated) impact of hand-checking is pretty transparent.

There’s every bit as much, if not more, physicality today on the perimeter than there was in the ‘90’s. Offensive players are hip checking, setting moving screens; defenders are grabbing and clawing at guys (check out some online photos of Curry and Jokic’s arms after games…it’s legit gross), and that’s behind the 3pt arc.

Nobody bothered even guarding beyond the 3pt line in the ‘90’s.

There was less space and overall more post banging then than there is now, but that was the result of there being less shooting. On net, the overall level of physicality really wasn’t that different.

[Warriorfan]

I was simply asking the OP what era he wanted this fantasy series to take place in; because the officiating and play style are completely different with whatever one you choose.

e.g. if you took the Golden State Warriors and threw them in a game in the 90s or 2000s they'd have to deal with WAY more physicality then they do now. The game was officiated completely different.

e.g. if you took a team like the 2004 Detroit Pistons and put them in today's game they would have to change their approach in a different manner. Their bread and butter was suffocating defense and slowing down pace; neither of which are very viable with today's officiating.

It doesn't make any team necessarily superior to the other. It just points out that context matters; thus my question.

Instead you give me some lazy answer about youtube; assuming that I wasn't alive and watching basketball in the 90s. Try again.

Not to butt in, but when was the last time you watched a game from a previous era? I only ask because memories are notoriously unreliable— I make it a point to watch classic games with a fair amount of regularity…

…and the difference in physicality between today and past eras is massively overstated, in my opinion. The most striking differences: the lack of team shooting, and team defenses essentially ignoring the 3pt line.

NFL football, in comparison, is WAY different today relative to previous eras.

Even though you watched the ‘90’s live, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts after rewatching one/some of those games now (of course, I’m assuming you haven’t, which very well might not be the case).

I have; although I really didn't need to to address this.

1. Hand-checking was allowed back then; making perimeter shooting and maneuvering much more difficult than it is now.
2. There's a level of contact that a defender was allowed to have back then on a player driving towards the basket that is simply not a thing anymore. Back then you could rub your body against them; steer them away from driving lanes; even get away with light hacking of arms etc. The phrase "hand is part of the ball" came from back then. None of that is allowed nowadays. You body up on a guy driving the lane and the ref is going to call it.

Both of the points above are obvious and are a stark contrast between how the game used to be called and how it's called today.

For those who bring up hand checking players are bigger and stronger at G and F. While smaller and more mobile

[Pennebaker]

Okay, try this: Transport the 2017 Warriors back to an era before the three point line.

Are they still a good team?

[rtiff68]

Okay, try this: Transport the 2017 Warriors back to an era before the three point line.

Are they still a good team?

Considering the average NBA player back when, skill-wise and athleticism wise?

It would be a slaughter.

Superstars would find ways to be superstars in any era; it’s everyone else where the differences really lie.

[ken6199]

I liked their depth better when Mbah A Moute was healthy. It was cool when they had this healthy stable of defensive wings to toss around their offensive guards. At that point in his career Luc could at least kind of hit wide open 3s. There is such a huge difference between a 6-man rotation and a 7-man one. 6-man rotation I think you're always doomed to run out of gas if your team makes it to the Conference Finals. Basically always happens with D'Antoni teams for some reason. Doesn't matter whether it's Phoenix or Houston, if D'Antoni gets to the WCF he's only going to have a 6-man rotation by the time he gets there.

Luc is the goat, real prince of Cameroon. Embiid just follows his footsteps and copies his moves.

I still remember this game which he saved us out of nowhere on a Denver-Utah death b2b, and made Gobert look like a fool playing as 5. Huge loss for the WCF.

Watch on YouTube

[Invictus88]

Not to butt in, but when was the last time you watched a game from a previous era? I only ask because memories are notoriously unreliable— I make it a point to watch classic games with a fair amount of regularity…

…and the difference in physicality between today and past eras is massively overstated, in my opinion. The most striking differences: the lack of team shooting, and team defenses essentially ignoring the 3pt line.

NFL football, in comparison, is WAY different today relative to previous eras.

Even though you watched the ‘90’s live, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts after rewatching one/some of those games now (of course, I’m assuming you haven’t, which very well might not be the case).

I have; although I really didn't need to to address this.

1. Hand-checking was allowed back then; making perimeter shooting and maneuvering much more difficult than it is now.
2. There's a level of contact that a defender was allowed to have back then on a player driving towards the basket that is simply not a thing anymore. Back then you could rub your body against them; steer them away from driving lanes; even get away with light hacking of arms etc. The phrase "hand is part of the ball" came from back then. None of that is allowed nowadays. You body up on a guy driving the lane and the ref is going to call it.

Both of the points above are obvious and are a stark contrast between how the game used to be called and how it's called today.

The manner in which you are talking about the impact of hand checking makes me think that you haven’t watched one of those games recently. You’re the only one that know the truth, but immediately going to the (way exaggerated) impact of hand-checking is pretty transparent.

There’s every bit as much, if not more, physicality today on the perimeter than there was in the ‘90’s. Offensive players are hip checking, setting moving screens; defenders are grabbing and clawing at guys (check out some online photos of Curry and Jokic’s arms after games…it’s legit gross), and that’s behind the 3pt arc.

Nobody bothered even guarding beyond the 3pt line in the ‘90’s.

There was less space and overall more post banging then than there is now, but that was the result of there being less shooting. On net, the overall level of physicality really wasn’t that different.

Nobody bothered guarding beyond the 3pt line in the 90s because teams didn't shoot them. That's not reasoning that contributes to the idea of being more or less physical.

All the rest of what you describe was / is there in both eras. You had the same hip checking and clawing; only the picks and curls were for 2pt outside shots instead of threes.

Hand-checking allowed the defender to have continous contact with an offensive player. It often led to shoves or grabs. So to disallow it wholesale minimized the shoving and grabbing as well. Now any contact is called.

Another area where there is a difference is flagrant fouls. It used to be that you basically had to do a flagrant 2 (intent to injure / recklessness to that effect) to get anything close to one called on you back then.

I.e. flagrant 2s now were flagrants back then outside of punches being thrown. Anything less was a common foul.

I'm sorry. I'm 44 years old. I watched the entirety of 90s basketball during my teen years and have been watching as things have become progressively more hands off; with a big change coming in the mid 2000s. And yes, the lack of hand checks are a big part.

[CIN-C-STAR]

Despite team defense being better than it's ever been, 9 teams this season alone have a better offensive rating than the 2016-17 Warriors.
Those Warriors teams shot 3 fewer 3 pointers per game than just the average team this season, because those Warriors were too stupid to realize that 3 > 2, so they'd be at a significant disadvantage playing almost any contemporary team.
Modern players are just way more athletic and skilled, and the schemes they run today are much more complex.
So I'd say many teams from this season alone would beat them easily, including the Kings, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Suns, Sixers, Cavs, Bucks, Celtics, and this season's Warriors if healthy.

-- Half the RealGM board if they were logically consistent

[TinmanZBoy]

That Spurs before Kawhi was injured by Zara or the 2013-14 Spurs…

[WestbrookGOATed]

Ahhh. If only it were the 2016 Warriors. I'd take the 2016 Thunder

[DoItALL9]

Probably the best chance but Shaq would need to absolutely go off.

Yes the team did have good perimeter defenders for their era, but no one who had the skillset or experience to guard a modern pace and space offense.

Is each team playing as they did at the time: the Lakers are playing 2001 style basketball and the Warriors are playing 2017 style basketball? If that's the case the Warriors win pretty easily.

2000-01 Lakers 3pt attempts (playoffs): 15.9fga, 38.6%

2016-17 Warriors 3pt attempts (playoffs): 32.9fga, 38.6%

LAL 2001 ppg: 103.4

GSW 2017 ppg: 119.3

No matter how much they gave the ball to Shaq they'd never be able to make up that scoring difference. That was also the last good Draymond shooting year: 4.6 3's per game @ 41% in the playoffs. How does Shaq guard that when he's never faced a barrage of perimeter shooting at anywhere near that level? The Lakers would get 3pt volumed to death.

In a game where 2 teams are taken in a time machine to a neutral location and are forced to play immediately almost no team is going to beat the Warriors because their 3pt shooting volume and efficiency is going to dwarf their opponent. Every team prior to 2010 would be at a huge disadvantage.

Yeah I have no doubt Shaq would go off but I just dont see how you make up the massive gap in 3 point shooting. I think many people here are underrating the impact of the 3. Theres a reason 3 point shooting has exploded the last 8 years

Getting guys in foul trouble

Sent from my LG-H872 using RealGM mobile app

[crows2]

The 2017 Rockets, assuming sound officiating.

I assume you mean 2018? The 2017 team didn’t make it past the 2nd round.

[NO-KG-AI]

I'd bet on the 1996 Bulls. Nobody else can throw that many high level, versatile and tough defenders at the Warriors while also having the GOAT.

Steve Kerr hits the game winner in game 5 for the lulz, and Jordan closes it out in 6.